


The Station

by salto



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25102252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salto/pseuds/salto
Summary: For TLK Fanfic Fest prompt: Radio station AU of any description. Wessex FM, Bebbanburg Beats, Mercia Magic…Brida’s last day at Wessex FM morning show before she has her baby. Finan has to lead the show because Brida is tired and Uhtred got dumped.
Relationships: Eadith/Finan (The Last Kingdom)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19
Collections: The Last Kingdom Fanfic Fest





	1. Dead Air

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic. But I loved the prompt and just had to go for it.
> 
> I had fun trying to fit different characters into this AU. I really enjoyed trying to work in as many characters as possible and adapting them to the time period (such as less dead characters). I also didn’t fully hold myself to exact relationship dynamics as established in the show (e.g. relationship of Finan and Hild with Brida) when it felt wrong for the fic.
> 
> I did incredibly basic and limited research on radio so those in the know will see where I go wrong. I did so for dramatic effect in some cases (I know playlists are often established in advance), but mostly if it is wrong it is because I didn’t know. On the chapter title, apparently dead air has to do with on-air silence. While that didn’t exactly happen in the chapter, I figured it speaks to the strained relationships and awkwardness. And with the deadline fast approaching to get works submitted, I had to pick something!

“Good morning. You are listening to Wessex FM. Welcome to the morning show with Uhtred, Brida and Finan. It’s 5 am. Which means that most of you should still be in bed. But for those of you who aren’t, here is a little something to get your day going.”

Finan muted his microphone as “Everything is Awesome” faded in.

Brida or Uhtred usually opened up the show. They were much better at keeping to the structure of the show and ensured their conversations moved forward from segment to segment. Finan usually just cracked the jokes. 

But Brida had arrived dangerously close to airtime. No one would fault her for that — she was almost 39 weeks pregnant. Finan was pretty sure she was over being pregnant. She had been exhausted for weeks. She rarely complained, but she seemed to be quite uncomfortable. She was constantly changing positions — to the point that Finan felt as though he was a spectator at a prenatal yoga class. Not that he minded, but he wished she could find some peace. But, then again, Brida had always been restless. 

Uhtred had been there earlier than usual, having not slept well at all. He had confided in Finan that Aethelflaed had ended things. She was moving from Wessex FM management to a more senior position at their sister station Mercia Magic. She had been clear with Uhtred that she wasn’t willing to try a long-distance relationship. When Uhtred had reminded that Mercia was at most a one and half hour drive away, she had responded firmly, very matter-of-factly, that she would not have time for a relationship with her new responsibilities. Now was the time for her to focus on herself and her career. Finan couldn’t help but wonder if some of this had to do with Aldhelm, who worked in sales at Mercia Magic. Aethelflaed and Aldhelm had dated a number of years back and the rumour was that he still harboured feelings for her. Finan had kept this thought to himself and had reassured Uhtred that she would come around. 

So it was left to Finan to guide them through the morning’s show, with their producer Hild’s help, of course.

It was Brida’s last day before maternity leave, which was a bit of a relief for Finan. Uhtred and Brida had a complicated history. And with all that had gone down recently between Uhtred’s brother Ragnar and Brida and Cnut, things were more tense than ever. Not that Finan could really blame Brida — Ragnar had had women on the side for years. Uhtred, on the other hand, had a huge blind spot for his brother and had never really taken to Cnut. So Brida and Uhtred had ended up on opposite sides of the battlefield — so to speak. Finan still wasn’t entirely clear on what went down. He gathered that Brida had been backed into a corner and had begged Uhtred for help. Uhtred had confided in Finan that he had desperately wanted to help her, but just couldn’t. It was over for Brida after that. She had never been the forgiving type. 

Hild came into the booth as the first song wrapped up. “Interesting choice of song,” she said to Finan as she glanced pointedly from Uhtred to Brida.

“Everyone knows I am a huge Tegan and Sara fan.”

“I am not disputing that. I just don’t think that the song from the LEGO movie is their best work.”

Finan shook his head. “It’s a classic. Plus Lonely Island is featured.”

Hild sighed. “I see you have some more gems lined up. Irreverent as always Finan.” She winked at him. “But I used my authority as producer to make a few changes,” she told him as a preposterously upbeat song started playing.

“After this set of songs will you be up for delivering the news Brida?”

Brida nodded. Hild squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

“Here, we have something for you.” Hild pulled a small package and card out from behind her back. 

Uhtred looked sullen while Brida opened the card. Her brow furrowed slightly as she read the comments and Finan couldn’t help but wonder what Uhtred had written — if anything — in the card.

“Congrats Brida. We’re really excited for you,” Finan said a bit too enthusiastically. He couldn’t help compensating for Uhtred. It was just what the two of them did — stepping up for the other when needed.

“The gift card is so you can get whatever you still need for the baby.”

Brida smiled slightly. Finan couldn’t help but feel it was somewhat forced for Hild’s sake. She placed the card on the table and unwrapped the small package, which had been lovingly and meticulously wrapped by Hild. Hild had no partner or children of her own and delighted in caring for her friends (who were pretty much her family).

Brida pulled out a tiny onesie. Finan couldn’t quite read the text, but gathered that it was a radio reference of some sort. Hild explained excitedly, “I couldn’t help myself. I know they grow so fast but it is just so adorable.” 

“Thank you. I hope it fits. The doctor tells me the baby might be very large. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, judging by how huge and stretched my belly is.” Brida tried to make light of the situation. “I’m not sure my belly button will ever recover.”

“Cnut is a solid man,” Finan offered, trying to distract Brida from Hild who was obviously disappointed.

“I’m sorry Hild. It’s lovely. I’m just a bit worried about labour. The doctor has warned me it might end in a c-section.”

Hild recovered quickly. “Well I am sure it is going to go well. You are the toughest woman I know. You and that wonderful baby are going to be just fine. And if the onesie is too small then I will just have a bigger one made.”

Tears formed in Brida’s eyes and the two women embraced.

Finan cleared his throat and the two women looked at him. “Sorry, but time for the news.”

“Right,” Brida responded. She pulled back from Hild, but kept one hand on Hild while reaching over to place her other hand on Finan’s arm. “Thank you both.” She wiped the tears from her eyes before they spilled down her cheeks and rolled her eyes. “Damn pregnancy hormones making me soft.”

She switched on her microphone and, with a steady voice that gave no hint of the emotional exchange that had just occurred, began the news, “Today in Winchester, it is a chilly….”

_ Jesus this is awkward _ , Finan thought and he gave Uhtred an “is this really necessary” look. 

Hild squeezed Uhtred’s shoulder as she walked out of the room. Finan was fairly certain Uhtred hadn’t yet spoken to Hild of his conversation the night before with Aethelflaed. But the whole station knew she was moving and Hild had always been pretty intuitive.

Uhtred remained hunched over the desk, fists clenched, and avoided Finan’s gaze.

Finan glanced at the clock. Just under four hours to go. He grabbed the cross around his chest and thanked God it was a Friday. He prayed the atmosphere would improve when the new announcer joined them in a few weeks.

***

It was nearing the end of the show and god was he tired. Finan really wasn’t made for leading the show. He much preferred leaving that to Uhtred. But Uhtred wasn’t about to lead any farewell tributes to Brida, so it was left to Finan.

Finan had invited callers to predict when the baby would come. Finan had suggested it would be really special if the baby came on Christmas Day. Brida’s lack of amusement was evident on her face — she wasn’t religious and was disdainful of the commercialized holiday. But she didn’t miss a beat and replied that she thought the baby would come sooner — “it had better” had been her words — and that a good day would be the winter solstice.

Brida thanked the listeners for all their sweet messages of support, promised to share the news, and assured them she would be back before they even realized she was gone.

After signing off, Finan retreated to the adjacent room, leaving Brida and Uhtred alone. He doubted that Brida and Uhtred would reconcile, but he did not want to stand in the way of their goodbyes. He was asking Hild a question about the holiday schedule and the arrival date of Brida’s replacement when she stiffened. He followed her gaze. Brida and Uhtred were arguing heatedly. Finan couldn’t hear them through the glass, but it was clear that nothing good was being said. Finan would have loved nothing more than to walk in and make peace between the two, but he knew it wouldn’t work. It had to come from them.

Uhtred walked purposefully to the studio door, opened it and propped it open with his body. He looked Brida squarely in the eye, gestured past the door and said calmly, “Just leave”. Finan wasn’t quite sure if it was a command or a plea. Either way, it was heartbreaking.

Brida stared back at Uhtred with a fierceness in her eyes that few could ever rival and walked out the door with her head held high and barely a hint of the pregancy waddle that she had had for the last few weeks.


	2. Segue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finan is nervous about new team dynamics. But he shouldn’t have been because Eadith fits in amazingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, my minimal research tells me that segue in radio terms refers to the transitions between tracks. So I figure it works for a chapter about the team transition.

While Finan believed strongly in being on time — he didn’t really see the point of arriving early to things. But he was a little nervous about how it would work out with the new announcer — particularly after the tense atmosphere in the recording studio over the last few months. 

That’s how he found himself sitting alone in the studio three-quarters of an hour earlier than he was required to show up for work. He had had a restless sleep and eventually just decided to head to the office. He had actually arrived almost an hour early and had popped in to chat with Skade from the night shift, but neither of them had much to say to each other — if truth be told he found her a little odd — so the conversation didn’t last long. He had planned on making himself a coffee, but to his horror discovered that there were only flavoured pods left. Lots of them. Hild had restocked again — only hers. 

_ Christ. Not again _ , he lamented.  _ Off to a great start _ . He really had to pay better attention to when he was running low on stock.

He made himself a tea instead, but was doubtful it was going to give him the required caffeine kick. 

“Dear Lord,” he prayed quietly, “please let this work out. Or at least not be terrible.”

He had never actually met Eadith. He was a bit nervous about their on-air chemistry, but he had heard good things about her professionally, which was backed up by the demo reel that management had shared with them. So he was trying to remain optimistic. Mostly, he was a little worried about interpersonal team dynamics. The fractured personal relationship between Uhtred and Brida had made the last few months almost unbearable. He typically tried not to prejudge people, but he knew that Eadith was dating Aethelred, which called into question her judgement.

He’d been so lucky with Uhtred — their on-air rapport was undeniable from the get-go. It was hard to imagine getting so lucky twice. Uhtred and Finan met at Bebbanburg Beats many years back. They bonded immediately — who wouldn’t have working under the asshole station manager that was Sverri. It had been an incredibly toxic working environment. Sverri was practically a slave master with the outrageous demands he had made of his staff. He had not only been a terrible people manager, but he had also been very bad at his job. Things had not been looking good for the station. 

In the end, it was Alfred who had saved them. A visionary businessman, Alfred was building an empire. He had built Wessex FM into quite the successful station and had been expanding his reach. At the time, he had just acquired a huge stake in Mercia Magic. Due to some differences of opinion and some trust issues, Uhtred had always been hesitant to work for Alfred, but with Sverri driving Bebbanburg Beats into the ground, it was time to jump ship. Hild, whom Uhtred had been close to since broadcasting school, was already a producer there so when the offer came to work with her on the Wessex FM morning show, Uhtred couldn’t refuse. His one condition was that Finan came with him. Alfred was not a great fan of Finan’s, but even he could acknowledge the golden chemistry between the two, and he sent offers to both of them that very day. 

It had been hard saying good-bye to their Bebbanburg Beats producer, Halig, but he had been considering a career change for some time. He had ended up joining the crew of a cruise line and primarily spent his time cruising around Europe. When they had last spoken in the summer, Halig was talking a much-deserved vacation in Iceland. He had always complained that he never got to enjoy it properly when he visited while working.

Alfred had passed away a number of years before. Aethelflaed rightfully should have succeeded her father — given her strong leadership and astute business sense — but she fell victim to institutional sexism (despite it being 2020). She was passed over in favour of her younger brother Edward. Aethelflaed made no secret of the fact that she disliked working under him so she had jumped at the chance to move to Mercia Magic. Edward was still in charge, but she could operate with a little more autonomy a little further away.

Aethelflaed’s departure opened the door to Eadith joining Uhtred and Finan on the show. Aethelflaed had gotten married young — too young — to Aethelred, a man who was much more about style than substance. He had a reputation of being incredibly full of himself and had an awful mean streak. After the birth of their daughter, the two of them had lived fairly separate lives. 

While Aethelflaed didn’t care whom he dated, she tried to avoid as many reminders of the man as possible, which included Eadith. Aethelflaed had objected to Eadith as a replacement for Brida, but had let the matter go once her own promotion had been announced. 

Finan didn’t blame Aethelflaed for feeling that way. He periodically ran into Aethelred and his business associate, Eardwulf, who was Eadith’s brother, and he found them to be insufferable — obsessed with their own self-importance and after only power, money and recognition.

“Finan?” Finan had fallen asleep and awoke at the sound of his name. Hild was leaning over him at the desk, checking if he was ok. “You alright?”

“We’re out of coffee.”

Hild examined her own full mug, a mock puzzled look on her face.

Finan halfheartedly rolled his eyes. “The regular kind.”

Hild looked at his mug. “Irish breakfast tea not cutting it?”

“Not today,” he replied as Uhtred and Eadith walked into the studio together.

Finan stood up. Hild smiled broadly and eagerly extended her hand, “You must be Eadith. I’m Hild. I’m so glad you’ve joined us. I can’t manage these two on my own, certainly not from the other side of the glass.”

Eadith smiled warmly at Hild then turned to Finan.

Finan was about to extend his own hand when he realized he’d drooled on it a bit in his sleep. So he crossed his arms instead and nodded his head in acknowledgement. ”I’m Finan. Nice to meet you.”

Uhtred raised his eyebrow ever so slightly at that, but Finan just ignored it. 

Handshaking was a fairly suspect practice to begin with — one that just invited germs to jump ship to a new host. He normally engaged in handshaking (albeit reluctantly), but he wasn’t about to knowingly smear slobber all over the hand of his new colleague. 

Finan knew Uhtred thought he was a germaphobe. He’d come by it honestly — he’d spent time in Africa when he was younger and just happened to be there during an outbreak of the plague. He didn’t like to think about what he had seen. He knew that particular disease tended to spread through the air, but he’d upped his personal hygiene ever since. He was the guy who yelled at other men in the bathroom for not washing their hands. He had no shame about it. 

“Lovely to meet you both,” Eadith replied.

Uhtred showed Eadith her spot and Hild set her up with her notes for the day.

Uhtred kicked things off. “Good morning everyone. This is our first show of the new decade. Today’s a special day here at the morning show because we are welcoming our new host, Eadith. We will play you a few songs while you wake up and then we will get to know her better. Call in if you have any questions for her.”

***

“We’ve had a lot of people call in. Everyone wants to know more about Eadith. First up, we have Ravn on the line.” Uhtred invited him to speak.

“Hi Eadith. What’s your patronus?”

Eadith laughed. “I wish you had asked me what my Hogwarts House is. There is some debate about that. I’ve never settled on a patronus. Maybe that fire spirit salamander from Frozen 2?” Eadith confirmed the self-evident — that Ravn’s was a raven — and kindly thanked him for the question.

“Next we have Ecgwynn on the line. Go ahead and ask Eadith your question.”

“My daughter woke up early and wants to know what your favourite colour is?” 

“And what’s her name?”

“Aedgyth.”

“Is she listening with you? Does she want to saw hello.”

“Hi,” a small voice said hesitantly.

“Good morning Aedgyth. I tend towards purples”. She was, in fact, wearing a purple turtleneck with black slacks.

“That’s my favourite colour too,” Aedgyth exclaimed excitedly.

“It’s a very good choice. Is today your first day back to school after the holidays?” Eadith asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, have a really good day and say hello to your friends for me. Maybe help your mother make your lunch now?”

“Oh, I always do.”

“That’s wonderful. Bye Aedgyth.”

“The next caller is someone I’ve known for a long time. Over to you Leofric.”

“What surprised you most about Uhtred and Finan when you met them?” 

“Well we haven’t known each other long,” she replied as she winked at them and gestured to the clock on the wall — they’d known each other for half an hour by that point. “I would say that Uhtred is much sweeter and kinder than I anticipated given his reputation.” Eadith flashed Uhtred an apologetic smile. 

“Most people expect him to be taller,” Finan joked. Leofric chuckled at that.

“Notwithstanding that last joke, I’ve found Finan was more reserved than I expected.”

Uhtred laughed. “I think he’s just tired.”

“It’s the coffee situation.” Finan brought the listeners up to speed. “We’re going to put a poll up on social media about this. Regular coffee vs hazelnut-flavoured coffee. Who drinks that?”

“Vanilla hazelnut,” Hild interjected. She rarely spoke on air but seemed to think this needed to be clarified — as though the vanilla redeemed the beverage.  _ Which it most certainly does not _ , Finan thought.

Eadith joined in with a twinkle in her eye. “Do you also have strong opinions about coffee flavours, Uhtred?”

“It’s just Finan and Hild. I stay out of this one.”

“So who buys the coffee?” Eadith asked.

Uhtred jumped in. “They each refill their own pods and only their own. It’s a bit of a game between them. Hild usually wins. Maybe you and I can come to a more collaborative arrangement.”

“Wait. Let me get this straight. Finan forgot to get more coffee so he’s trying to make himself feel better by winning a poll on social media?”

“That’s pretty much it,” Uhtred laughed. “Day one and she already has you figured out, Finan.”

“Not quite,” Eadith looked directly at Finan while she spoke. Finan was not quite sure how he felt about the attention.

“I can see that Hild wasted no time in getting that poll up on our page. Go check it out. Usually, I’m a regular coffee kind of girl, but I’m officially the first vote for vanilla hazelnut. Sorry, Finan.” Eadith smiled warmly at him as she said it, her eyes playful.

***

They also invited listeners to talk about their new year’s resolutions and their hopes for 2020, but three and a half hours into the show people were still mostly interested in talking to Eadith. 

She’d told them that she enjoyed horseback riding. That she had been quite good at cross country running back when she was in school. That her happy place was the forest. That she loved sitting around a campfire with friends. She also enjoyed visiting museums and was an avid reader.

It had begun to sound so much like a personal ad, that Finan had half expected her to say she enjoyed long walks on the beach. 

When asked to play a song by her favourite musical artist she had trouble choosing between the many talented artists out there. “But here’s an older one that’s been stuck in my head recently.”

“King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles started playing. Eadith sang along softly to the chorus.

_ So you dare tell me who to be? _

_ Who died and made you king of anything? _

Finan had wondered what that was about, but figured it was none of his business.

His favourite question was about the meaning of her name. 

“I know that it is an olde English name. I’ve heard that part of it means fortune or blessed while the other half of it links to war.”

“Old names are in again,” Uhtred remarked.

Finan quickly googled. “It says here that it was one of the few female names that survived the Norman Conquest of 1066,” he read. “One site says it means ‘strife for wealth’. Sound accurate?”

Eadith laughed. “I hope not.”

“Okay, how about this then: ‘prosperous in war’?”

“A bit better. I guess it means I’m a survivor?”

“Have you ever been in a battle?”

“As a child I used to fight with my brother.”

“Who usually won?” Uhtred asked.

“He did. He was older.” 

“And in a battle of wits?” Finan further inquired.

Eadith laughed yet again. She had a beautiful laugh. “There were many of those.”

“I would bet on you in an argument. You seem to have the spirit of a true warrior.”

“My brother rarely concedes defeat. Even when I am right,” Eadith said. A sad smile on her face. 

Uhtred jumped in to wrap up the show. “Hope we put you all in a good mood as you head back into the office this morning after the holiday period. I certainly enjoyed getting to know Eadith better. Results are in from our social media poll. I’m not sure that I really believe that more of you prefer vanilla hazelnut coffee to regular coffee. But I, too, know it is wise to side with Hild. Here’s hoping 2020 is a great year for all of us. On our end, despite a lack of regular coffee, I think we’re off to a good start.”

***

Uhtred took Eadith over to introduce her to Haesten and his producer Osferth whose show had already started in the other studio. Finan would never understand how Osferth managed to work with Haesten. He supposed that of the lot of them Osferth was the best suited to do so, but he still felt for him. He’d have turned the job down if he’d been offered it.

“Haesten, Osferth, I wanted to introduce you to our newest team member, Eadith.”

”Ah yes, Eardwulf’s sister and Aethelred’s girlfriend. How is the ‘King of Mercia’?” Haesten mocked. 

Eadith did not hide her surprise at the deeply personal statement. “I don’t know. We’re not in touch anymore.”

“And here I went to all that effort to shut down the questions from callers about whether she was single or not,” Hild grumbled under her breath to Finan. 

They had tagged along to say hello to Osferth, but Finan decided to slip out during the awkward silence that followed to grab some coffee from the cafe across the street. They still had to get through their team meeting and he had a caffeine withdrawal headache. 

As he walked down the hall he heard Eadith ask, “And you, Haesten, I thought I had heard that you were moving to Eoferwic. I guess that didn’t work out?”

_ Good on ‘er _ , Finan thought.  _ Haesten deserves that _ . Finan wasn’t clear on the details, but he knew Haesten had been pursuing some grand scheme that had recently fallen apart.

While he waited in line, he reflected on how the show had gone. He had been really impressed with Eadith. She was clearly smart, fairly funny, and had engaged really well with the callers. They would still have to build up their on-air rapport, but so far it looked very promising.

When Finan arrived at the meeting room, Hild was already going over the plans for the new promotional poster.

“Please God don’t let it be another cheesy shot of the three of us in bed.” Finan joked with Hild. But it was worse. Way worse. 

When Uhtred and Eadith arrived, Finan was hunched over the desk, covering his face in his hands. His coveted cup of coffee forgotten on the desk beside him.

“It’s the promotional poster,” Hild explained. “There’s a sketch.”

Uhtred reached past Hild to grab the piece of paper. He held it up between him and Eadith. It wasn’t entirely clear what the theme was. They were all dressed in Middle Age garb. Uhtred had a Viking look to him while Eadith and Finan looked more like Saxons.

“Maybe they are trying for a Game of Thrones vibe?” Uhtred suggested.

“Likely. But remember how badly the ending was received? Everyone has moved on,” Finan said.

“And here I was thinking the two of you would enjoy dressing up in armour,” Eadith said, winking at them for the second time that day. “We should just make a counter-proposal.”

“Like what?” Finan asked.

Eadith looked away while she thought about it. “The listeners seemed to like that bit about patronuses,” she offered. Eadith studied Finan. “I feel like yours would be a bear.”

“An angry bear,” Hild added, clearly amused.

“Yes,” Uhtred agreed, “and you could be riding it into battle.”

Finan shot Uhtred a dirty look. 

“What? Eadith is right. The outfits are pretty cool looking. We shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss them,” he joked.

Eadith, Hild and Uhtred laughed. Finan just shook his head.

“Why don’t we just go with a winter theme?” Eadith proposed. “It’s simple.”

Uhtred agreed to talk to the publicity team.

“That leaves just 10 more agenda items,” Hild announced.

Finan groaned loudly at that.

Eadith chuckled and nudged Uhtred with her elbow. “Definitely an angry bear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize it is strange to say that “Eadith” is one of the only old English names to survive when names like “Aethelflaed” appear in this story, but it was a nice way to acknowledge a link to the canon storyline. 
> 
> I thought references to Finan as being like a bear that I have read elsewhere were very accurate so built on that idea.

**Author's Note:**

> I have another chapter that just needs to be cleaned up and a few others started. Not trying to disregard the fanfic fest deadline or break the rules, but just been hard to get this done in the pandemic due to my family situation.
> 
> I thought I should also mention that where I live there are two morning show DJs that worked together on one station which went under. I think they worked apart for awhile and then eventually reunited at another station. Not sure how common this is, but thought I should acknowledge this as part of my inspiration.


End file.
